About Us

Passion & Purpose

Bridges 2 Harmony Gospel Choir (B2H) is celebrating its 14th year at Roosevelt High School in Des Moines, Iowa. Founded by Rev. James McNear, Jr., in Fall 2008, the choir was formed to give students at Roosevelt a high quality musical experience in the gospel genre. The choir has toured regionally, including tours to Chicago, St. Louis, and Minneapolis. In 2016, the choir was put on the international stage, sharing an exchange with the Soweto Gospel Choir of South Africa. Under the direction of Mr. Devon Steve, the 52-member choir has become known for its passionate and rich choral vocals, “precision, discipline, respect and perfect tenderness,” (Chuck Offenburger, 2019). Bridges has expanded its outreach and collaboration with schools, universities, national recording artists, musicians, and conductors, and has an intense schedule with over 30 performances and concerts each school year. Most recently, the choir performed at the Iowa Gubernatorial Inauguration, in Iowa PBS and Public Radio’s Juneteenth Special, collaborated with Tony-award winning and Grammy nominated performer Roosevelt Credit, and was awarded "Outstanding Ensemble" from the Iowa High School Musical Theater Awards for its performance in The Lion King. In Fall 2021, the choir will collaborate with Grammy-award winning gospel-jazz ensemble, Take 6. At the heart of the choir, the mission remains strong: to build bridges across diverse people through music. Passion & Purpose.